Self-defense or murder? George Zimmerman goes on trial

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(CNN) — Self-defense or murder?

That’s the question at the heart of the trial of George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Monday marks the start of jury selection in Seminole County, Florida, where Martin was fatally shot on February 26, 2012.

The shooting put a national spotlight on Zimmerman’s hometown of Sanford and sparked fresh debates about race relations and gun laws in America.

Zimmerman is Hispanic; Martin was African-American.

An initial decision not to pursue charges against Zimmerman led to the dismissal of the town’s police chief and the appointment of a special prosecutor, who accused the neighborhood watch volunteer of unjustly profiling and killing Martin.

Zimmerman now faces a second-degree murder charge in Martin’s death. He has pleaded not guilty and is currently free on $1 million bond.

“We don’t need you to do that”

Prosecutors and defense attorneys agree on almost nothing about what happened that day.

What’s clear so far is this: Martin left the home of his father’s girlfriend in Sanford to get a snack at a nearby convenience store.

As he walked back, carrying a bag of Skittles and an Arizona iced tea, he and Zimmerman crossed paths.

Earlier, Zimmerman had called 911 to report a suspicious person in the neighborhood.

A recording of that call includes a police dispatcher asking the volunteer, “Are you following him?”

“Yeah,” Zimmerman replied.

“OK, we don’t need you to do that,” the dispatcher said.

Zimmerman says he killed Martin, who was wearing a hoodie, in self-defense after the teen punched him and slammed his head on the sidewalk.

He suffered a fractured nose and cuts to the back of his head, according to a medical report by Zimmerman’s family doctor.

Sanford police initially questioned Zimmerman and released him without charges. They said then there were no grounds to disprove his account that he’d acted to protect himself.

The case soon became the center of a national controversy, which continues some 16 months later, though at a lower intensity.

On Monday, protesters in at least six cities plan to demonstrate in support of Martin, who was unarmed when he was shot.

His family has said Zimmerman profiled the teen and crossed the line from neighborhood watch volunteer to vigilante.